The drought is causing poor development of wheat and rapeseed in large parts of Europe. It means that the crops go into winter underdeveloped.
Although wheat is not in bad shape in the Netherlands and the vast majority of Western Europe, the situation is different in Central Europe. A major rainfall deficit hinders the germination and growth of winter grains, it appears MARS report of the European Commission.
This concerns areas in eastern Germany, western Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. The problems start with seedbed preparation and sowing. The crops are less well developed and in several cases do not even emerge. The root development of the crop is also less good than normal.
Do not re-sow
The situation is particularly problematic for oilseed rape, because in many cases (where the crop has not yet emerged) it is not possible to sow again. This does mean that spring wheat must be sown in the spring. Winter wheat can be resown in Germany, for example, although this is not optimal.
However, in countries such as Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic, wheat cannot be resown. This is problematic because there are many problems with turnouts. The relatively high temperature also means higher pest and disease pressure.
Poor crop conditions
The International Grains Council (IGC) also reports poor crop conditions. Whether this actually leads to lower yields mainly depends on next winter. According to the IGC, the world wheat area will increase by 2018% (to 2019 million hectares) for the 1/220 season.
Last season, wheat yields were significantly lower, which means that the poor start to this season is being closely monitored. The fact that yields were significantly lower had consequences for inventories. According to the IGC, these will decrease by 11 million tons (compared to last season), bringing the stock to 262 million tons. It is the first fall in 6 seasons.
Southern Hemisphere: Harvest has begun
The wheat harvest has recently started in the Southern Hemisphere. While yields in Australia have been significantly reduced, significant yields are expected in Argentina. However, there are concerns in Argentina about the expected rain, which does not benefit the quality of the wheat.